Episode image for Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure

Duration: 1 hour

Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Yet his reputation rests on only a handful of pictures - including the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

As the National Gallery in London prepares to open its doors on a remarkable exhibition of Leonardo's work, Fiona Bruce travels to Florence, Milan, Paris and Warsaw to uncover the story of this enigmatic genius - and to New York, where she is given an exclusive preview of a sensational discovery: a new Leonardo.

Last on

Thu 10 Nov 2011 23:00 BBC HD

  • Salvator Mundi - The Saviour of the World

    Salvator Mundi - The Saviour of the World

    Locked away in a secret location in New York is a painting believed by experts to be a Leonardo, thought to have disappeared centuries ago. Fiona Bruce meets the people behind this sensational discovery to learn how it came about, and is given an exclusive preview of the picture, never filmed before.

  • Fiona in Florence

    Fiona in Florence

    Fiona begins her journey in the small town of Vinci in Tuscany where Leonardo was born. She follows in his footsteps to Florence, the jewel of Renaissance Italy, where Leonardo was apprenticed to work with the master painter Verrocchio. In the Uffizi gallery there she sees the first glipses of the hand of Leonardo the painter. In Florence Leonardo was feted as an exceptional talent . But it was here too that Leonardo was accused of the crime of homosexuality - punishable by death.

  • Mona Lisa

    Mona Lisa

    In Paris, Fiona is given a private view of the Mona Lisa and learns the secret of how Leonardo achieved the extraordinary effect that the picture has had on generations of art lovers: by meticulously applying layer upon layer of paint thinly mixed with oil to produce a smoky, mysterious finish.

  • Da Vinci on BBC Your Paintings

    Da Vinci on BBC Your Paintings

    Watch a slideshow of 14 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci on BBC Your Paintings

    Da Vinci - Your Paintings

Credits

Presenter
Fiona Bruce
Director
Roger Parsons
Director
Julian Birkett

Broadcasts

Buzz about this programme

On Blogs

Links are found automatically and then selected for relevancy.

Find out more or report a problem.

See all buzz for Da Vinci: The Lost Treasure

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.